MsP Production Blog

If you’re like me, you’ve been frustrated with not being able to post your SoundCloud track to your Facebook page for some reason. I’ve tried the fixes found here from SoundCloud’s support to no avail.

After doing some testing, I’ve figured out why I’ve been having issues.

If you create your own graphics, you may have used .png files for your graphics, due to its lossless compression (meaning it doesn’t compromise quality even when compressed). This is the problem. Unfortunately, when using SoundCloud’s player in a post on FaceBook, the player will not show if you used a .png file for your image of that track. When using FaceBook’s debugger tool, the field og:image will be blank. When you post the link on Facebook, the picture will not show, and the player will not be available in the Facebook post. See the images below:

Debugger sample on a post that won’t work

Sample of a non-working SoundCloud post

Both Week 27 and 28 were using .png files for images. By changing the image in SoundCloud to a .jpg version, the player now works as intended. I’ve switched it up on Week 29, and now we’re good to go.

Using a .jpg instead of a .png

Player now shows with the .jpg.

Hope this helps! As many of you have seen, it’s not like I’m not working on music, just haven’t had time for the blog. That’ll change, so expect some new articles and things in the near future, to go along with the plethora of beats I’ve released these past 200+ days. =]

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written, and I’m trying to get back into it. I’m a little older, a little wiser (arguably), and lots of things have changed since I last wrote. However, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that the music is still very much alive, and we’ve released and will continue to release material regularly. =] I’m still working on my Phase 4 – Take the Lead album, which has four (and a bonus) songs done currently, and Trifecta has four songs towards that album as well.

My birthday had just passed on September 7, and I made the decision earlier that week (those who follow me on Twitter @moon_shyne already knew) to make a beat a day, every day, for 365 days. I am also doing 1 song a month. Now these numbers are minimums, and if i can churn out more than 1 beat a day, and more than 1 song a month, all the power to me. =]

I’m five days in so far, and I’ve done five beats. Every Saturday, I will release a quick mix of all seven beats from that week, and I want the public to let me know which of the seven they feel was the best for the week. Now since this isn’t my usual “I’ll make the music when I’m inspired” style, I’m a little worried about how great everything will be. However, after five days so far, the beats I’ve designated as the beats for those days have all been good. Are any of them great? Maybe. You all can be the judges for that.

Interestingly enough, there’s almost a commentary for the day embedded in each of these beats. I’m starting to draw inspiration more frequently and using any event or atypical object or person for inspiration. I’ll give you mini-commentaries for each of the first 5 beats:

Simple Technique (2013.09.07): There’s a song called Binibini, a Filipino song by a group called the Rainmakers. I’m Filipino myself, and I’ve used Filipino samples in the past (queue Miss Universe by HotDog). While driving, my wife had played this song, and from there, I drew the inspiration from the intro. This became the sample that is the core of this beat.

Double Blitz (2013.09.08): While at home, my wife and I flipped through the channels and watched a portion of Step Up: Revolution. I wanted to convey a battle type of energy, and I drew from that.

In Style (2013.09.09) : Not much to this one, I started from scratch and this is what came out.

Storyteller (2013.09.10): A portion of this can be attributed to Holy Grail with the pianos. I was always fascinated with progressions with pianos where chords are played with the right hand and only the left hand changes for the bass notes. I’m playing a constant Bm the whole way, with only bass drops using my left. I liked the sounds of using 3rds of the chords for the violins, and the rest is history.

Looking Back (2013.09.11): Being what day it was, I wanted to make something a little bit more reflective. I tried to go more for an older R&B vibe, going with a 2-5-1 in Bbm with an electric piano. I’ve never used an electric piano in a beat, so I felt good about that. Same as the day before, I was feeling the usage of the 3rds and 5ths as the basis for the melodies of the violin and organ, so I kept it going.

On Saturday, you’ll get to know these beats a little bit better. To make 365 beats in a year to me almost sounds impossible. I’ll take my chances though. So far so good!

First off, I would like to say thanks to Stephen Pale of the Neverends for this hint. Stephen Pale is an excellent guitarist, and has a great handle on music theory. His band is starting to get some gigs in the New Milford, New Jersey area, and you might want to check them out. =]

The Minor 7 Flat 5 (m7b5) chord, also known as the Half Diminished Seventh chord is a chord frequently used in jazz, mostly as the ii portion for the ii-V7-i progression in a minor scale, serving as a predominant of sorts.

Now for those who do not know what a Minor 7 Flat 5 looks like, it’s a diminished chord plus a minor seventh. A diminished chord is a minor chord, with the fifth of the triad flatted. For example, C minor is formed by C–Eb–G. A C diminished chord is formed by C–Eb–Gb, instead of a G. The minor seventh is the same seventh you would play on a Cm7, which is the Bb.

The quickest way to form the chord would be as such. We will use Cm7b5 as the example.

1. Start with a C.
2. Use the next note as if you were forming the minor chord triad. In this case, an Eb, as a Cm triad is C–Eb–G.
3. Starting with the note in step 2 (Eb for this example), create its minor chord triad. Ebm would be formed as Eb–Gb–Bb.
4. Voila, your Cm7b5 chord is C–Eb–Gb–Bb.

Personally, I feel this makes it easier to think of the chord on the fly when playing piano. Your left hand would play the first note, then your right hand would play the minor chord in step 3. A Cm7b5 is the equivalent of Ebm/C, which may make it easier for some folks to visualize. A Bm7b5 would be Dm/B. An Am7b5 would be a Cm/A, etc.

So hopefully this makes for a good mnemonic device. It should help you make those minor scale 2-5-1’s a little quicker. =]

This here is a personal post, so there really isn’t much you might get out of this, aside from some advice I guess if you have a group and are suffering from that “creative differences” bug that groups tend to get that cause them to split. Read on if you’re on that boat, or if you just want to know more about me. =]

Back in 2000, right before I finished high school, I figured out how to make beats. I always wanted to rhyme, and two of my best friends, Doc and K, wanted in. And so, the group D.i.c.K. (lol at that name, horrible choice, and that was mostly my fault) was born. The name was an acronym built on our rap pseudonyms, Doc L, iLL cHrome (MooN ShynE), and K-Dogg (K-Maculate).

After two years of that, we disbanded over creative differences, or more specifically, I was just too dicator-like. After a few years, I understood that, and it was only then I started to really value what a true collaboration was like. I did collaborate with them a few times, but on separate projects and never together like before.

Years later, after some time apart (though we never truly lost touch, just weren’t seeing each other nearly as often), we all ended up hanging out again and staying connected. Eventually, K and I started Black and Blue Ink. with two albums recorded so far, and now Doc is back.

To say that I’m happy he’s back is an understatement. I feel now that my musical life is complete again because I have my two original brothers with me. The only thing to truly seal the deal is for us to record a track again. Three solid verses from three solid emcees on a beat. If we record an album, I’d be ecstatic, and this time we’d all enjoy it, and we’d all get as creative as possible. It’d be amazing, I’m sure. The BBI albums were great projects, and I’m sure these next projects with Doc will be just as awesome.

The one thing I appreciate about being a solo artist is that you have no boundaries. Since I have the freedom to be both in a group and a solo artist at the same time, I can just divide up my ideas between my solo self or group self, whichever is more appropriate. When I’m in group mode, we make the best of the sum of our parts. Any ideas that I don’t use with the group I can use on my own, and I wouldn’t have any reservations about that.

My goal now is to see how creative my boys can get. I want to see Doc rhyme the breaks off a beat like I know he can do, K hit the track off with some off the wall stuff, and I want to get a couple of moments where we all listen to a mix and go crazy because the illness we are listening to was a product of all of our ideas. High-fives, pounds, and cheering all around. That kind of experience. I’ve been there with everyone I’ve worked with, except the two of them at the same time, at least recently.

Here’s hoping to that! =] And here’s the first track we’ve done in 10 years, called “Our Times.” Hopefully, it’ll be the first of many. =]

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More to come from us. 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for MsP, after a fairly quiet 2011. =]